Turkey must end meddling in affairs of Mideast countries: Iranian MP

Instead of accusing Iran of having ties with the PKK, Turkey should reconsider its wrong policies of interference in the internal affairs of the neighboring countries.”
Mansour Haqiqatpour, the deputy chairman of Iran's Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy

An Iranian lawmaker has lashed out at Turkey for accusing Iran of cooperating with the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), calling on Ankara to end its US-sponsored policies of interference in the regional countries instead of making accusations.
In a Friday interview, Mansour Haqiqatpour, the deputy chairman of Iran's Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, slammed Turkey for serving as “the infantry for the US’ politico-military objectives” in the Middle East.
“Instead of accusing Iran of having ties with the PKK, Turkey should reconsider its wrong policies of interference in the internal affairs of the neighboring countries,” the Iranian legislator noted.
He made the remarks in response to recent allegations by Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet that accused Iran of backing the PKK.
The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s.
Haqiqatpour slammed Sahin’s remarks as “psychological projection,” adding, “The measures currently taken by the Turkish government in the neighboring countries, including in Syria and Iraq, are by no means acceptable and they are the result of the wrong policy adopted by the Turkish government.”
“Turkey accuses Iran of having ties with the PKK while it has dispatched military forces to Syria and high-ranking Turkish military officers have been arrested in the country (Syria),” the Iranian legislator pointed out.
“Furthermore, by providing arms to the militant groups in Syria, Turkish officials are supporting and organizing them,” he added.
Tensions have been running high between Syria and Turkey, with Damascus blaming Turkey - along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar - for backing a deadly insurgency that has claimed the lives of many Syrians, including security and army personnel.
In early October, Turkey deployed tanks and armored vehicles along its border with Syria and the Turkish parliament authorized cross-border military action against Syria “when deemed right.”
ASH/HJL/MA